My G50Vt-X3 (quick review + undervolting + homemade cooler)

[redguardsoldier]

Quick review

As you already know, G50Vt-X3 has a very good build quality. But on mine, I notice some flex on the F# keys (especially on the middle ones like F5-F9). It’s not a deal since no one will use these keys with such frequency and force.

Personally, I like the deep orange color of my laptop. And the LED lights on the back are also beautiful. I just leave them on (no flashing, always on). On the palmrest, there’re too many stickers, which I got rid of just hours of ownership. The OLED screen is somewhat a nice extra, especially when I found them extremely useful.

The screen is bright and clear. But since this is my first laptop, and this screen is my first LCD screen, I don’t have much to talk about it .

It’s somehow heavy. I’m starting to regret not getting something lighter like N80 series (which I first look at). And the heat coming out from the vent on the side is really hot, it can make you hand hurt a little if put your hand near it (but the air becomes warm with my homemade cooler ). The palmrest also get warm, but still acceptable. If you have a lot of sweat like me, you will have to clean your palmrest and trackpad often to keep them clean and smooth. Fingerprint stays everywhere on the glossy surface of this laptop, so I keep using the LCD cleaning cloth to clean it all the day.

Battery life is a real deal. I got 2h30 browsing Firefox (browsing only, no video streaming) in PowerSaver mode. Note that I got 2h30 when my laptop is already undervolted. I wish ASUS chose 9-cell battery as default for all G50V(t).

Gaming performance is great (maybe I don’t have to say that). I really like the included Razer Copperhead, very accurate.

Since G50Vt is not a “new” laptop, I won’t post pictures about it. But wait, there’re a lot of pictures in Homemade cooler section.

Undervolting

Out of the box, it run very hot. After 30 minutes playing Call of Duty 5, its max temps reach 62 for CPU, 90 for GPU and 44 for HDD.

I used the guide here to undervolt my T9400. Maybe I got a good processor, because from stock voltage of 1.250V (max FID), I managed to cut it down to 0.9875V. During the undervolting process, I suffered no BSOD (Blue screen of Death), just an error message from Orthos. I don’t check each voltage level, I just run Orthos and decrease the voltage until I got error message at 0.9675V. To achieve stability, I keep it at 0.9875V. It saved the day, my laptop run much cooler and it’s sure that battery life is longer. View result below.

Homemade cooler

In Vietnam, I got two cooler brands: Cooler Master and China-made (or generic). It’s sure that no generic cooler will match the stupid vents of G50Vt. With Cooler Master, I think about two models: X1 and Infinite. But they both have one small fan for the whole surface. And they’re somewhat expensive for me to give them a try.

I managed to make myself a cooler. I want to write a full guide here. But two things stop me. The first thing is the simplicity of it, those pictures will tell about it. The second thing, also the most important, is my laziness .
I used a 220VAC 120mm fan, which produce a huge amount of airflow. It's somehow noisy, but with the drop in temp it give me, I can stand it. I bought it for 45000VND (approximately 2.6USD, too cheap). 2 meters of wire, a plug cost me 9000VND more (0.52USD). The plastic base was constructed from my fifth grade technical kit (fortunately, I have kept that kit for 7 years).



And this is the result of my undervolting and homemade cooler. Min temps are taken by leaving the laptop on Windows’s desktop for 30 minutes. Max temps are taken after 30 minutes playing Call of Duty 5. My room temp is about 30 degree. All temps are in Celcius degree.



My favorite OLED script

This is the script that I’m using. I love this script because it is simple but still give me what I need. You see “-1%” and “-1” because I took the battery out. On AC, the time remaining also show “-1” . And its remaining time is what Windows calculated and showed (it mean that time is not exactly correct, just approximate).



That script was posted by sicopoly, edited by mr_milo. I want to thank NBR community very much for this script. You answer my questions, do the script for me, just for nothing. Newbie, believe me, NBR is the place where you could ask and would be answer.

The end

Thanks for reading. This is my first review, so that forgive me if I had mistakes.

[IKAS V]

Great review!
great way to recycle waste buddy, FeDex cooler is awesome

[E.B.E.]

Originally Posted by redguardsoldier

Quick review

As you already know, G50Vt-X3 has a very good build quality. But on mine, I notice some flex on the F# keys (especially on the middle ones like F5-F9). It’s not a deal since no one will use these keys with such frequency and force.

Personally, I like the deep orange color of my laptop. And the LED lights on the back are also beautiful. I just leave them on (no flashing, always on). On the palmrest, there’re too many stickers, which I got rid of just hours of ownership. The OLED screen is somewhat a nice extra, especially when I found them extremely useful.

[...]

Thanks for reading. This is my first review, so that forgive me if I had mistakes.

Thanks for the review! Added to the Info Booth and the Reviews & Owners' Lounges Index.
E.B.E.

[Templar001]

How would someone use that script? I have the X6 and I'm curious about this.

[E.B.E.]

Have a look at the Info booth, under Miscellaneous, "Customize G50 OLED".

[hidavi]

LOL, sick dude, nice!

[dancom96]

Those results with the cooler are amazing. If only retail ones could be that good...

[redguardsoldier]

I'm in a 30C room. And I'm going to change house. In my new house, there's air conditioner. So that when the move is finished, I will show you the result of my lappy with cooler in a 20C (maybe 18C if that air conditioner can handle) room. I expect better result .

[hidavi]

Even in 80f room, my GPU doesn't get past 87c.

[redguardsoldier]

80f=26.67c. I don't know what you mean? In 30c room, I got 90c max. In 26.67c room, you got 87c max. Look like your GPU is the same to me (some get hotter or cooler because ASUS's pre-applied paste is different).